Th2 immune responses and alternatively activated macrophages (AAMacs) in helminth infection in aged mice

This study aims to understand Th2 immune responses and alternative macrophage activation against nematode parasites in aged mice. Eighteen-month (18 M) and three-month (3 M) old C3H/HeN mice were inoculated with Heligmosomoides polygyrus (Hp) larvae. Real-time PCR analysis indicated that interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 gene expression was elevated in both groups after infection, but the expression level was significantly low in 18 M mice. Macrophage phenotype was monitored by measuring arginase-1 gene expression and immunofluorescence staining in small intestine, showing a decrease in the number of alternatively activated macrophages (AAMacs) around worm cysts in 18 M mice. These results suggest that the Th2 immune response in aged mice against a nematode parasite was not sufficiently induced to promote AAMacs.     

CYP1B1 is polymorphic in cynomolgus and rhesus macaques

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1B1 is involved in the metabolic activation of various procarcinogens, and some CYP1B1 genetic variants alter CYP1B1-dependent procarcinogen metabolism. Cynomolgus and rhesus macaques are frequently used in toxicity tests due to their evolutionary closeness to humans. In this study, we attempted to identify CYP1B1 genetic variants in 13 cynomolgus and 4 rhesus macaques. A total of 17 genetic variants were identified, including 8 non-synonymous genetic variants, indicating that, similar to humans, CYP1B1 is polymorphic in macaques. These CYP1B1 genetic variants could be the basis for understanding potential inter-animal differences in macaque CYP1B1-dependent metabolism of promutagens.     

An application of digital imagery analysis to understand the effect of N application on light interception,radiation use efficiency,and grain yield of maize under various agro-environments in Northern Mozambique

Light-based analysis is a fundamental approach to quantify the effects of factors determining crop growth in a given environment. The objectives of this study are to confirm the applicability of a digital imagery technique to extract green leaf areas for estimating light interception (LI) of maize canopy and to understand the effect of fertilizer application on the LI and radiation use efficiency (RUE) of maize under various agro-environments in Northern Mozambique. A locally recommended variety, Matuba, was grown in a single season with three different N application rates (0, 30, and 80 kgN ha^?1) at one hot/dry low-elevation site, two hot/humid mid-elevation sites, and one cool/humid high-elevation site. Repeated measurements with quantum sensors revealed that the digital imagery is applicable to estimate the LI of maize except for leaf-senescing period close to maturity. The N application demonstrated profitable yield increases with agronomic nitrogen use efficiencies (kg grain yield per kg N input) of 20.6–35.3 kg kg^?1 except for the low-elevation site with severe drought stress. In the mid-elevation sites, the yield increases were mostly explained by the improvement of RUE while the effect on LI was small because the vegetative growth was naturally vigorous under high temperatures irrespective of N inputs. At the high-elevation site, the N application improved its stagnant initial canopy development and increased both RUE and LI. The simple and inexpensive imagery technique should be useful to identify physiological basis of maize responses to fertilizer application and its interaction with regional environment even under poorly equipped regions in the tropics.     

Soil management: The key factors for higher productivity in the fields utilizing the system of rice intensification (SRI) in the central highland of Madagascar

The system of rice intensification (SRI) developed in Madagascar in the 1980s has been promoted as an integrated crop and resource management approach to rice-cultivation, especially for resource-limited smallholder farms. While advocates have claimed that SRI could boost rice yields with less external input, many criticisms have challenged its effectiveness regarding yields and applicability to larger-scale rice farming systems. In this study, we conducted a field survey and on-farm experiments to assess rice yield performance and key management practices on a few of the early SRI-practicing smallholder farms in the central highland of Madagascar.Rice grain yields at the survey fields were 9.9 t ha⁻¹ maximum without using mineral fertilizer. Deep plowing to the depth of 25–30 cm as well as SRI practices have been conducted continuously since the early 1990s. In addition, an effective drainage system facilitated intensive water management at these high-yielding fields. On-farm experiments demonstrated some yield increases with no interaction for the examined SRI practices, though the effects were not great enough to explain the high yields at these fields. The soils of these high-yielding fields contained relatively large amounts of soil organic carbon (SOC) from the surface to the deep soil layers, and the soil mineralizable nitrogen was closely correlated with rice grain yields.The results indicated that the high yields at the fields of those who were early to adopt SRI were mainly due to the soil fertility associated with great nitrogen-supplying ability, rather than ‘synergetic effects’ of the SRI components. This high N-supplying ability of the soil and accumulated SOC from surface to deep soil layers were attributable to the long-term combined practices of extensive organic applications and deep plowing. Soil hydrology could be another key factor stimulating high rates of soil N-mineralization.These management practices were, however, only applied to the limited numbers of fields within less than 1.0 ha of total landholdings of these farmers due to the great demand in labor and organic resources and the difficulty in controlling irrigation water. Intensive weeding and widely spaced transplanting of young seedlings were also performed in the fields with irrigation and drainage systems sufficient to avoid yield losses from flooding and drought. Although extensive and long-term systematic research is further required to fully assess the benefits of this sort of intensive management as opposed to conventional methods, the preferential allocation of intensive management by the successful SRI-adopters might be the implication of its location-specificity and difficulty in scaling up even within the resource-limited smallholder farms.     

Morphological analysis of cell distribution and network structure via gap junctions in swine corneal stroma

Because of corneal transplantation limitations, there is a need for cornea-specific regenerative medicine. The development of such regenerative medicine has been delayed because of the complex and unique structure of the corneal stroma. Few studies have explored the corneal stroma cell distribution and cell types in vivo. This study investigated regional differences in morphological characteristics and distributions of corneal keratocytes and immunocompetent cells in the corneal stroma to clarify their functions and structural characteristics. The porcine eyeballs were subjected to light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and immunofluorescence staining analyses. Corneal cells were primarily located in the limbus, rather than the center of the cornea; the long keratocyte diameter was largest on the epithelial side of the corneal limbus, while the short diameter was largest on the endothelial side of the central cornea. Moreover, there were significantly more corneal cells on the epithelial side than on the endothelial side in both the central and limbus areas. Gap junctions between cells in the corneal stroma were present on the surfaces of cytoplasmic processes. Many cytoplasmic processes were scattered throughout the corneal stroma; they were connected both vertically and horizontally, forming an intercellular network. Additionally, immunocompetent cells on the epithelial side suggested to participate in this network via gap junctions. The morphology of keratocytes and immunocompetent cells on the epithelial side suggests that they play important roles in corneal homeostasis.     

Biological characters of bats in relation to natural reservoir of emerging viruses

Many investigators focused on bats (Chiroptera) for their specific character, i.e. echolocation system, phylogenic tree, food practice and unique reproduction. However, most of basic information about the vital functions related to anti-viral activity has been unclear. For evaluating some animals as a natural reservoir or host of infectious pathogens, it is necessary that not only their immune system but also their biology, the environment of their living, food habits and physiological features should be clarified and they should be analyzed from these multi-view points. The majority of current studies on infectious diseases have been conducted for the elucidation of viral virulence using experimental animals or viral gene function in vitro, but in a few case, researchers focused on wild animal itself. In this paper, we described basic information about bats as follows; genetic background, character of the immunological factors, histological character of immune organs, the physiological function and sensitivity of bat cells to viral infection.     

Trientine, a copper-chelating agent, induced apoptosis in murine fibrosarcoma cells in vivo and in vitro

Anti-copper treatments have been investigated to determine whether they suppress angiogenesis and tumor development since Cu is widely accepted as being required for angiogenesis. We examined the effects of treatment with trientine, a copper-chelating agent, on tumor development in a murine xenograft model using fibrosarcoma-derived transplantable QRsp-11 cells and C57BL/6 mice and induction of apoptosis in tumor cells and endothelial cells in vivo and in vitro. The tumor volumes increased more slowly in trientine-treated mice than in untreated mice. Tumor volumes in the treated mice were significantly smaller than those in the untreated mice at 24 days postinoculation (d.p.i.) of tumor cells. A cluster of pyknotic tumor cells and morphological abnormalities in capillary endothelial cells were observed in the tumors of trientine-treated mice but not in the tumors of untreated mice. The proportions of apoptotic and necrotic cells in the tumors of treated mice were approximately 3.5-fold higher than those in the tumors of untreated mice at 14 d.p.i. When the cells were treated with trientine in vitro, mouse endothelial cells and bovine primary endothelial cells showed an approximately 10-fold higher sensitivity to trientine than QRsp-11 cells in terms of D37. However, the proportion of apoptotic cells in endothelial cells was significantly lower than that in QRsp-11 cells after treatment with trientine. These results show that apoptosis was induced in tumor cells by treatment with trientine in vivo and in vitro.     

A "possible" involvement of TNF-alpha in apoptosis induction in peripheral blood lymphocytes of cats with feline infectious peritonitis

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) cats show a decrease in peripheral blood lymphocyte counts, and a particularly marked decrease in T cells including CD4+ and CD8+ cells. In this study, we showed that lymphopenia observed in FIP cats was due to apoptosis, and that the ascitic fluid, plasma, and culture supernatant of peritoneal exudate cells (adherent cells with macrophage morphology, or PEC) from FIP cats readily induced apoptosis in specific pathogen-free cat peripheral blood mononuclear cells, particularly CD8+ cells. In addition, TNF-alpha released from macrophages and TNF-receptor (TNFR) 1 and TNFR2 mRNA expression in lymphocytes were closely involved in this apoptosis induction. In particular, in CD8+ cells cultured in the presence of the PEC culture supernatant, the expression levels of TNFR1 and TNFR2 mRNA were increased, indicating that CD8+ cells are more susceptible to apoptosis induction by TNF-alpha than other lymphocyte subsets, particularly B cells (CD21+ cells). The results of this study suggest that TNF-alpha, produced by virus-infected macrophages, is responsible for induction of apoptosis in uninfected T cells, primarily CD8+ T cells.     

Isolation and characterization of arylacetamide deacetylase in cynomolgus macaques

Arylacetamide deacetylase (AADAC), a microsomal serine esterase, hydrolyzes drugs, such as flutamide, phenacetin and rifampicin. Because AADAC has not been fully investigated at molecular levels in cynomolgus macaques, the non-human primate species widely used in drug metabolism studies, cynomolgus AADAC cDNA was isolated and characterized. The deduced amino acid sequence, highly homologous (92%) to human AADAC, was more closely clustered with human AADAC than the dog, rat or mouse ortholog in a phylogenetic tree. AADAC was flanked by AADACL2 and SUCNR1 in the cynomolgus and human genomes. Moreover, relatively abundant expression of AADAC mRNA was found in liver and jejunum, the drug-metabolizing organs, in cynomolgus macaques, similar to humans. The results suggest molecular similarities of AADAC between cynomolgus macaques and humans.